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Amadia Town – Iraq / Kurdistan

Amadia City

I took this photo during my trip to Iraq. Amadia City, One of oldest cities in Iraq sitting high on a mountain living in peace and resisting the intruders of all kinds. I wished I had more time to take more photos inside the city, definitely worth going back again in future, it has various mix of cultural and historical sites.

Amadiya (also spelled “Amediyah”, “Amadia”, “Amedi”, “al-Amadiyah” or other variations), is a small Assyrian and Kurdish town along a tributary to the Great Zab in the Dahuk Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan. The town is perched on a mountain, formerly only accessible by a narrow stairway cut into the rock. The history of this city goes back to 3000 years B.C. to the time of ancient Assyria, since it has always been a strategic place as it is built on the flat top of a mountain. For several centuries, after the expulsion of the caliphs from Baghdad, it was ruled by a pasha, a prince who was from the royal Abbas family, reputed to be one of the richest rulers in the region.

The region in which the city rests is also believed to have been the home of the Magi or priests of Ancient Persia. Amedia is believed to be the home of some of the most significant Magi priests, the Biblical Magi or the “Three Wise Men”, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to see Jesus Christ shortly after his birth.

There are also ruins from the Assyrian era and ruins of a synagogue and a church in the small town. At the turn of the 19th century, the population already numbered 6,000, of whom 2,500 were Kurds, 1,900 Jews and 1,600 Assyrians